Looking backward, the main reason for the failure was simple: The attempt had been such an abject failure that the robot itself had no inkling that anyone had even attempted to capture it.
As for the would-be abductors, they were apparently just as clueless as the robot itself.
“He didn’t react at all,” said the dark-haired young woman with a noticeable pout. “I tried every trick in the book, Ernie. It was as if he was a damned robot or something.”
“Well, Lola, maybe you ain’t as hot as you think,” said her partner with a sneer. He ducked under the roundhouse punch she threw at him and backed up a half pace, holding up his hands in mock-serious defense. It was an old game; the two of them had been trading insults and half-playful punches ever since they’d become partners. “What if he is a robot?” he asked after a moment’s reflection.
“Well, of course he could be one,” she said, nodding. “That’s not impossible. But think about it. If Phule’s got somebody-or something-impersonating him, is the real Phule going to be running around on some half-jungle planet, getting shot at by the natives, or here in a first-class hotel, keeping tabs on his money? The robot’s gonna be the one out in the boonies. Do you know how much money he’s got sunk into this casino?”
“I know how much I’ve sunk into it,” said Ernie, scowling. “I’ve lost enough to feed him and half his soldiers for a couple of days.”
“He gets that from you and the same from a couple of thousand other suckers every day of the year,” said Lola, pacing the hotel room floor. “So the real Phule’s got to be right here, keeping an eye on his money. But I never thought he’d have the discipline to resist me when I put the moves on him. I guess that’s what it takes to run a casino and not gamble away the profits.”